Modern adversaries targeting cloud identity infrastructure through API-driven, identity-centric attack patterns. Unlike traditional APT or ransomware operators, these actors weaponize OAuth flows, CI/CD pipelines, and federation trust chains—operating without malware through pure identity abuse.
Cloud-Native Intrusion
Groups exploiting native cloud identity primitives and API-driven authentication mechanisms
Supply-Chain Compromise
Actors manipulating identity trust paths through vendor and integration targeting
DevOps Identity Abuse
Operators compromising CI/CD pipelines and automation service principals
OAuth Pivoting
Specialists in SaaS-to-cloud lateral movement via consent manipulation
Critical distinction: These threat actors operate entirely within identity layers. Detection requires identity telemetry—endpoint tools are largely ineffective against API-driven, token-based operations.
OAuth Token Abuse & Consent Manipulation
Adversaries weaponize OAuth authorization flows to achieve full account takeover without credential theft. By exploiting consent mechanisms and OIDC scope escalation, attackers gain persistent access to SaaS applications and cloud resources through malicious OAuth applications and rogue third-party integrations.
Primary Attack Vectors
Malicious OAuth application registration with deceptive consent prompts
Full SaaS and cloud account takeover achieved without traditional password compromise—pure identity protocol abuse.
CI/CD Pipeline & Machine Identity Compromise
1
Pipeline Entry
Compromise GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, GitLab Runners, or deployment service principals through credential exposure or workflow manipulation.
2
Privilege Escalation
Steal service principal secrets, modify CI workflows, and inject malicious build steps. Exploit overprivileged automation accounts and non-rotated API keys.
3
Cloud Pivot
Leverage pipeline access to pivot into production cloud environments, artifact registries, and deployment targets with elevated permissions.
Rather than direct breach, adversaries compromise upstream trust relationships. They target vendors, SaaS integrations, managed identity providers, and plugin ecosystems to manipulate identity trust chains including federations, SSO IdPs, SCIM provisioning, and delegated API permissions.
Vendor Compromise
Third-party provider breach cascading to downstream customers
Plugin Injection
Malicious code in trusted extensions and integrations
Adversaries establish persistence through identity mechanisms rather than traditional implants: hidden service principal credentials, bypassed secret rotations, rogue OAuth grants, and dormant but trusted identities.
Identity is not a component of the attack. Identity is the attack.
These adversaries weaponize APIs, trust relationships, OAuth flows, CI/CD pipelines, and federation configurations—representing the modern identity supply-chain threat landscape.